Chapter 282. Family Thunder Spiritual Root (Spiritual Root), Black Python Transforms into Flood Dragon

"Several matters converged, some auspicious, others ill-fated."

The old clan leader shook his head, still speaking with a sigh.

Eldrin raised an eyebrow and took a sip of tea.

"Pray, tell me more."

"Your grand-uncle Xinghe passed away some days ago."

The old clan leader spoke, a trace of anguish flashing across his face. Over 2 100 years had passed in the blink of an eye, and nearly all the cultivators from his generation had already completed their journey.

Eldrin's finger trembled slightly, yet he still set down the teacup.

The next Beast Rampage would occur within 7 or 8 years. Chen Changxuan was already over 240 years old this year, and that Meng Xinghe was several years older than him, having surpassed 250 years of age.

Meng Xinghe had managed to survive until now by consuming 3 spirit apricots in succession. 1 of them was a Grade-3 spirit apricot, which Eldrin had specifically arranged to be delivered to him.

In total, the 3 spirit apricots had extended Meng Xinghe's lifespan by 50 years, allowing him to cling to life until just recently before passing away.

After Meng Xinghe's death, the old clan leader's childhood friends had all passed away in seclusion, leaving no fellow cultivators of his generation.

Even friends made after establishing the Violet Mansion, such as Xavier (Person Name)—a False Core cultivator—would have little more than 1 cycle of 60 years left in their lifespan unless they achieved a breakthrough to the Golden Core realm or consumed life-extending treasures. Chen Changxuan’s expression trembled faintly, tinged with a trace of melancholy, as he said, “Before his death, Cousin Xinghe’s final wish was to nurture a Violet Mansion cultivator for the family.”

Meng Xingwan had brought a sum of spirit stones with her, and sold her a Li Fire Crystal (Spiritual Object) for 60,000 spirit stones.

The old clan leader said calmly, "60 1000 spirit stones for a single Li Fire Crystal (Spiritual Object)—that's practically the rock-bottom price for Li Fire Crystal (Spiritual Object)."

Generally speaking, for a Foundation Establishment clan to purchase this item, they would need to pay a premium of 80,000 to 100,000 spirit stones to acquire it.

The old clan leader continued calmly, "This price is already a personal favor on my part. I will contribute 30,000 spirit stones to cover this deficit."

Eldrin gave a faint nod, then smiled. "Our late granduncle must be watching over us from the heavens. I'm certain he would be deeply comforted."

"Alas, this is all I can do."

The old clan leader sighed, dispelling a measure of his sorrow.

He thought of something else, then said with a smile, "There’s another piece of good news—you’ll surely be delighted when you hear it."

"Oh?"

A flicker of surprise crossed Eldrin's face—it seemed joyous news truly was on its way.

Observing his expression, the old clan leader chuckled while stroking his beard, then called out to the clansmen outside the grand hall.

"Go and fetch Siting."

Yes.

A family cultivator accepted the order and hastily departed.

A moment later, that person returned leading a child of 6 or 7 years old.

After a glance at this individual, Eldrin let out a faint, surprised sound. He immediately activated his Jade Spirit Pupils to inspect further, then revealed a trace of delight.

“Thunder Spiritual Root (Spiritual Root)？”

A look of delight crossed Eldrin’s face—no wonder the old clan leader had said he would be overjoyed.

Cultivators with Heterogeneous Spirit Roots possess extraordinary talent, which can boost their chances of forming a Golden Core by 20 percent.

The old clan leader smiled kindly and gestured for Chen Sitong to approach.

"Siting, this is your grand-uncle Eldrin. Come and pay your respects to your grand-uncle."

Chen Siting stared blankly, his youthful face slightly pale as he gazed with trepidation at the 2 Ancestors.

He looked up and saw the 2 Elders sitting there in perfect tranquility, yet they loomed like 2 majestic mountains towering tens of thousands of feet high. Their aura was as magnificent as the sun, radiating an extraordinary demeanor akin to that of immortals.

1 was a man in snow-white robes, his figure elegant and upright, like an immortal descended to the mortal realm. The other also appeared youthful, his aura restrained, yet possessing a dormant power as vast as the ocean.

They didn't look like his granduncle and ancestor, but appeared even younger than his own parents.

Fortunately, he remembered his parents and elders repeatedly urging him before he came: he must be extremely respectful to the Ancestor and obey every word.

At this thought, he promptly dropped to his knees and spoke with reverence, “Siting(Person Name) pays respects to the Patriarch(Person Name) and to Granduncle(Person Name).”

"Good child."

The old clan chief chuckled heartily, patting his head to signal him to rise.

Then, turning his head, he said to Eldrin, "Chen Siting is 6 years old this year and recently manifested a Thunder Spiritual Root. I intend to keep him under my personal care."

"Hmm."

Eldrin smiled and nodded, then handed over a few treasures to Chen Siting as a meeting gift.

Another Thunder Spiritual Root (Spiritual Root) had emerged, equivalent to gaining an additional Golden Core seed in the future, which brought him a flicker of satisfaction.

Over the past 1 100 30 years, the mortal population of the clan had grown from fewer than 200,000 to over 5 million, while the number of cultivators had reached 5 to 6 1000. Yet, this remained the first instance of a special spiritual root emerging among them.

With a touch of joy, their spirits lifted considerably.

Eldrin lingered in Pingyang City for half a day before recalling Yu Qingyan's matter. He decided to ride his sword and make a trip to the Lingyuan Mountain Market.

Before leaving, the old clan leader called out to him and reminded, "There's 1 more thing I forgot to mention."

"Now that a new demon king has emerged at Celestial Python Lake (Location), and it's that Black-Horned Python, you must be cautious from now on."

"A new Demon King?"

Eldrin's eyes narrowed slightly. With the beast tide approaching, it came as no surprise that a demon king had emerged from the Celestial Python Lake—exactly as he had anticipated.

What troubled him was that the demon king turned out to be the former Black-Horned Python. Having clashed with Eldrin (Person Name) twice before, the serpent shared a deep-seated grudge with him—inevitably, they would have to settle this score in a future confrontation.

Noticing his expression, the old clan leader nodded gravely and said, "That Black Horned Python has received cultivation resources from Emerald Wave Lake. Its bloodline has now regressed to its ancestral origins, transforming into a Black Flood Dragon (Demon Beast), and it has broken through to the Golden Core realm."

“Black Flood Dragon (Demon Beast)…”

Eldrin’s expression turned grave. The bloodline of the flood dragon lineage was exceptionally potent—so much so that it nearly rivaled the superior Golden Core of humankind, enabling it to battle across 2 cultivation layers.

The Black-Horned Python had transformed into a flood dragon, now an exceptionally gifted 1. With merely a Golden Core, 1st Tier (Cultivation Realm) cultivation, it could likely contend against cultivators at the Golden Core, 3rd Tier (Cultivation Realm).

Golden Core, 3rd Tier (Cultivation Realm) could hardly be mentioned in the same breath as the first Golden Core layer. 3 False Core cultivators joining forces could contend with a first-layer Golden Core cultivator, but to oppose a Golden Core, 3rd Tier (Cultivation Realm), at least 5 False Core cultivators would be required.

Even with 3 fourth-tier immortal sword artifacts in his possession, he would find such an opponent troublesome to face. In a 1-on-1 confrontation, he would likely have no choice but to flee for his life.

"It seems I must find a way to refine the River of Heaven Water Sword to the fourth rank as well."

A flicker of thought crossed his mind. The Sky-Sundering Twin Swords of Eldrin (Person Name) could only merge successfully when both blades were of equal grade. If 1 was stronger and the other weaker, the imbalance between Yin and Yang would inevitably cause the fusion to fail.

Now that the Heaven Sundering Art could no longer merge, he had lost his greatest trump card. To survive the beast tide, he would have to devise another plan.

Suppressing his thoughts, Eldrin bid farewell to the old clan leader, then merged with his sword and soared toward Spirit Prefecture.

A fourth-tier immortal sword, even a low-grade 1, possessed speed that could chase the stars and race the sun. It could traverse 2 100 1000 li in a single day. Though the Spirit Origin Mountain lay over a 100 1000 li from Pingyang City, such a distance meant little to Eldrin (Person Name) at his current velocity.

In just half a day's time, Eldrin arrived at the Spirit Origin Mountain, transforming into a sword beam as he descended upon the spirit vein.